Chapter 81 - At Last (1/2)

Chapter 81: At Last

ELIJAH KNIGHT’S POV:

By the time the DC officers and Student Council got out of the meeting with the Professors, it was already late into the night.

I took that chance to tell them all what I couldn’t earlier – that Arthur was alive and safe.

“Yes! I knew it! I knew he’d survive.” Claire had sunk down on her chair in relief as she covered her face with her arms, probably to hide the stray tears that were sliding down her cheek.

Curtis just let out a huge breath of relief as he leaned back against the wall; but it was Princess Kathlyn’s reaction that caught me off guard.

For once, I could visibly see her face brighten as she studied me to make sure I wasn’t lying. I could almost see her chocolate-colored eyes twinkle as they narrowed to formed a rare smile.

“Thank G.o.d,” she muttered over and over under her breath after I reaffirmed the information with an awkward nod.

“As expected of my *sniff* rival. Mhmm.” The elf that kept insisting that he was Arthur’s rival had a presuming look on his face as though he was the one that saved Arthur or something but the mucus leaking from his nose betrayed his expression.

“Heh, I knew the twerp wouldn’t die from just a fall,” The bear leaning back on his chair scoffed. Theodore tried to play it off casually but the half-grin he tried to hold back told everyone that he was quite glad.

Kai, I think that was his name, responded very indifferently with a smile that looked superficially drawn.

“Looks like I’ll get my duel after all.” The buff midget, too ugly to be deemed anything but an “attractive” dwarf, nodded in antic.i.p.ation, her arms crossed to show off the bulging veins.

Ugh, I’m recalling some unpleasant memories again.

Fairly obvious that they were all relieved, they didn’t mind that he wouldn’t be back to help out with the situation at hand for a bit longer.

Just the opposite, it felt like they wanted this whole fiasco taken care of before Arthur and Tessia got back.

This was odd because, more so than the professors here, I felt like Arthur would be able to do something about this mess if our Director didn’t get back in time.

I had told the Disciplinary Committee officers about Arthur after the Tri-Union Building site was under control. Luckily no one died and only a few students were mildly injured. An Emitter brought over from the Adventurer’s guild healed them and they were taken to the treatment ward where, before their parents came, they’d give their account for what happened inside.

The atmosphere within the academy took a turn for the worse as there was a clear split between the students now. The newly admitted elves and dwarves were furious, generalizing that all humans were racist brutes, while the prideful human students had no intention of taking the blame for the actions of others.

The few human students that did feel bad for what had happened, ended up being ostracized by both sides. In the end, they just took a neutral stance, too afraid to say anything since at this point, the situation was too volatile; everyone was trying to find someone else to blame.

It was weird how people acted more recklessly when they banded together, like they got strength from each other. Both sides became more vocal after the building was put out and almost turned physical until the professors told them all to disperse.

Restless at this whole event, I ended up stopping by the training room that Arthur had allowed me access to. I normally didn’t use it, but since both Arthur and Tessia weren’t here, I decided it would be okay.

The guard eyed me funny but the front desk lady named Chloe was friendly enough to escort me personally into the room.

“Haaa…” I let out a deep breath as I felt my mana core tremble in excitement to let loose.

Unlike Arthur, I’ve been learning a lot since I came to this academy; a lot of practical aspects applicable to my magic seems to work differently for me compared to others.

One thing I noticed was that meditating didn’t do much for me. My mana core developed and strengthened at its own pace and any conscious effort to refine more mana from the atmosphere doesn’t seem to help.

Even without any real effort, I broke through into the light orange stage but after reaching this stage, I just can’t seem to make any gains.

I clench my hands into fists and then release, repeating this motion as if my hands weren’t my own.

[Earthen Spear]I feel mana well up in me at the activation of the spell and immediately a rock spike shoots up from the ground a couple meters in front of me.

[Earthen Spear]I cast, this time with more mana imbued into the spell.

Two thick spears of earth shoot up at an angle in front of me. To be honest, even casting the name of the spell is unnecessary for me. It’s just become a habit for me so that I can keep a firm vision of what I want to evoke but if I practiced more, maybe I could even instantly cast multiple streams of spells at once.

[Stone Barrage]This time, the ground underneath me crumbled as chunks of earth began levitating. After a couple moments of concentration, I will the rocks to shoot forward.

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*